NZ’s UNSC Proposal: Even Handed or Empty Handed?

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In contrast, McCully is circulating a draft resolution that refuses ‘to call it as the evidence suggests’. While McCully is supposedly looking to support action that would stop the ‘downwards spiral in recent months’, he has shown a decided unwillingness to directly confront the source of that violence. He has obfuscated the issue by implying an equivalence between murderous attacks on innocent civilians and Israel’s efforts to protect her citizens.

McCully’s proposals regarding settlements and International Criminal Court proceedings give an impression of addressing relevant issues. However, Israel has repeatedly stated that the only way forward in the peace process is for Israelis and Palestinians to sit together at the negotiating table. Abbas has refused Netanyahu’s recent invitations to engage in direct negotiations.

The Human Rights Council Report into the 2010 Gaza Flotilla incident described the conflict as ‘The apparent dichotomy…between the competing rights of security and to a decent living …’ This could be re-phrased as the ‘right to life’ versus the ‘right to a better life’. While the HRC, notorious for its anti-Israel bias, acknowledged Israel’s right to security, this reality has somehow disappeared from McCully’s radar. How can it be considered ‘even-handed’ and ‘fair-minded’ to not unequivocally condemn the murder of innocent civilians?

While McCully’s proposal may have the appearance of even-handedness, the unwillingness to confront the ‘elephant in the room’ leaves the impression of empty-handedness.

About the Author

Sheree Trotter is a Māori New Zealander and Ph.D candidate (History) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is a researcher, writer and co-founder of Shadows of Shoah, a unique multi-disclipinary Holocaust exhibition.